The North Star
by Patty Hillard
Summary: A woman is given a second chance on one condition. M to be safe.


I was just your typical female. A normal girl of twenty five, well as normal as a girl with red hair can be that is. I am still the same as I was that day. I was young, and had just told my husband that we were going to have a daughter in three more months. He had been given a month of leave from the Marines and we were celebrating the fact that we had a baby on the way. We had spent most of the month in and out of the hospital because of testing to make sure that our daughter would be healthy. It was his last day home and we spent it at the fair. I couldn't believe that by August we'd have a daughter and he was upset because he'd be on tour again. But Tommy knew that he had a reason to go back. He wanted to make sure that our baby could live a life of freedom. I had kissed him goodbye the last day I was alive. It was the last time he got to say I love you to me, and the last time he'd ever hear me talk to him.

If only I had known that it would be our last day together maybe I would have done things differently. I might have asked to go with him on the ship or even begged him to stay with me. But then he would be dead as well. I went home after his ship left and had cried myself to sleep, maybe it was my hormones, or the fact that he wouldn't get to hold his daughter until she was nearly two years old. I don't know why I cried that day, not anymore. It's been so long since then that I can only just remember his face in my mind. I long to see him but I can't. Not anymore, maybe not ever. The day I died was May 28th 2009. I can remember that date no matter how many thousands of years may pass.

I had fallen asleep from crying and had been asleep for at least an hour or two when the sound of glass breaking woke me up. I grabbed the gun that Tommy kept under the bed and silently walked down the sairs. From the top step I could see movement in the living room, but by the time I got to the living room no one was in there. I figured maybe my cat had knocked over something and that would explain the glass and shadows moving. But when I looked for her I realized that she was still in my room on the bed. So it couldn't have been my North. So I checked in the kitchen but saw no one there either.

I decided that I must be imagining that I had heard the glass breaking. That I had dreamt of it and had headed back to my room. I had just started to close my door when I felt a hand go around my mouth. I tried to think, but I felt tired, more tired than I have ever felt. The last thing I saw before the darkness came was my North hissing and the bed rushing up to meet me. I can still remember thinking 'why is North hissing she's never done that before,' she was my guardian. I came to, to see a man that I knew on top of me. He worked on the ship with my husband, that is until he was given a dishonorable discharge for attacking one of his shipmates. I never knew who because Tommy wouldn't tell me who or how bad he injured the person. He always said that it was too painful to talk about and he didn't want to upset me.

I can't help but wonder where my North was she never left the bed on her own, she was a rescue kitten that had lost her ability to walk, or jump after the man who owned her tried to kill her and her siblings. I had manged to save just her and another female kitten. They became my little girls because they never left my side. But when I looked beside me I saw something that tore at my heart more than anything else in the world. This man, had killed North and her sister Star. I cried for them they were still only babies they had only just turned two. But they at least gave him a fight his face was bleeding quite badly where his left eye should have been. But it wasn't enough in my opinion he should suffer far more than that for stealing my daughters from me.

Then I realized my daughter, my Nym wasn't moving I couldn't feel her inside me anymore. I panicked and squirmed as much as I could under the man's extreme weight even though he had to only be around one fifty he felt as though he weighed close to three hundred pounds, and he was on my stomach. I looked down and realized that there was more blood on the bed then there should have been even with what he had done. Then I felt it the wetness on my dress, the pain in my body and how intense it was. I felt as though I was in labor from how sharp it was.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BABY? I can't...I can't feel her anymore." I had shouted without realizing it. My heart was aching this man had taken my babies from me. He had hurt my little girls. "You hurt my daughters. You bastard you took away my Nym. You took away North and Star. I will make you pay for what you have done do you hear me asshole! You will die by my hands for this!" That was all I could say before he hit me with enough force to break my jaw. The pain I felt was nothing compared to the pain in my heart, nor was it able to be compared to the amount of pain that I wished to put him through. I suffered that night for hours he beat me and raped me. The blood from my body mixing with that of my children and his semen. I knew that at least if he was sloppy that there would be some evidence of who had done this to me.

After nearly eight hours of him tearing my body apart every way he could I was numb. I no longer felt what he was doing to me. I guess you could say that I was in shock. But I was able to remember the time. I know it was 4 a m and I knew that I heard sounds that were nearly impossible. I heard a baby cry and the sound of a crow in the room. When the clock showed four forty four I felt myself start to give up. I was ready to just die so I could be with my babies. Someone must have answered my prayers. Someone with a cruel sense of humor. The private had laid my cats on my chest and put my husbands gun to my head before he pulled the trigger. I felt the bullet enter my skull and the last thought I had was that he would pay even if I had to kill him myself.

Now if I could have thought straight I would have realized that, that would be impossible. How could I kill him myself if I was dead? I guess that someone up there thought that too beacuse I awoke minutes after, or at least I thought it was only a few minutes. It was dark that much I knew for sure. There was no light, no sound, and I realized no room for me to move. Yet at the same time there was infinate space, and it was very loud and bright where I was. "Where am I? Am I dead? Or maybe this is all just a dream?" I was scared who wouldn't be in my situation. I mean I remembered dying, I remembered seeing the lifeless bodies of my kittens and the blood from losing my baby. Now here I am in a place that was foreign to me.

I looked around me to try to make some sense of things, and noticed that I was in a forest. I could hear a waterfall not five feet from me, and the sounds of wildlife around me. Finally I felt free to move. So I headed towards the waterfall, when I got to it I saw a bridge on the opposite side was a bright light that felt safe and comfortable even from the distance I was at. I started to cross the bridge but half way across I was stopped. There sitting on the bridge were two little girls. They were the oddest girls I had ever seen. They had pale milk white skin, grey hair and cat ears. The girl's eyes were that of a cat and they each had on a color. One was green the other blue. These girls as I looked at them went from the size of a two year old to a ten year old to two teenagers in a matter of seconds.

They were so familiar to me that I felt like they were another part of me. When they spoke I felt a chill run through me. "Mother! You have joined us. But we can not stay, not us, and not you. We have a job to do. Back home we have unfinished business there. Why do you look so scared mum, it's me North, do you not remember me?" Could I laugh I would have. Surely this was a joke. "North you know that mother is not familiar with us in this form. We were in another form before. Do you remember sister? I will show you." Then right where the odd little girl was, stood Star. My cats, my beautiful little girls were human and they could talk to me. I sank to the ground and cried silently, I had longed for the day that I could see this happen but always figured it to be a silly fantasy. Now here they are in human form and talking to me.

I didn't even stop to think about it as soon as Star became human again I wrapped both girls into a tight embrace. I never wanted to let go, I never wanted to lose my girls again. I wished I could hold them forever but eventually I had to let go. "Mum we were granted this form to help you. We were told that if we help you then we, all three of us can go back to life. But there is one thing about it. Star and I will be born as humans we will not be cats like before. So we agreed as long as you were our mother when we are reborn." I looked at North astonished. She, they would be my children, human children if we do whatever it is we have to do? I was more than ready to agree but Star started to speak.

"There is something else mum, when we are reborn we will still have the memories from this life. They said that you will have to give us the same names we had as cats or we will be born dead. The only way we can even be born is because of how deeply you loved us. Also they said do not worry about Nym. She is alive, somehow she was saved right after you were shot. There is a cop there that we need to talk to, he is retired, he did so right after what happened to us. Seems he was so deeply troubled that he couldn't work again."

I looked at my beautiful girls and did not care that they looked strange, they were mine. I knew that even if they looked like they do now when they are reborn I'd love them with all my heart. Which left me which only one choice, one I was happy to make. "Yes, let's do this North, Star, we will do whatever we have to so that we can be alive once again. I will gladly have you two as my children even if you were born with tails and cat ears you would be beautiful to me." I felt an intense warmth wash over me as the light enveloped the bridge before I saw only darkness again.

Then I felt it the softest cloth I had ever felt surrounded me and on my chest was two cats, my cats. I realized that I had to be in a coffin, the space was too small for anything else. Now being claustraphobic has it's downsides, but it has it's upsides. I had only hit the lid two or three times before I heard it break. A few more hits and i had a hole big enough for me to climb out of. But I didn't want to leave my girls so I put them into the front of my shirt then I began to claw at the clay and dirt until I saw a thread of light. I was finally out, when I realized that it was cold, too cold to be May.

How long was I dead for? I looked around and realized that there was snow on everything. I looked at the hole I came out of and saw that on my headstone my husband had not had my name put but the names of my cats as well. So that is why they were with me he had them bury us together. I had to smile he remembered, he actually remembered that I wanted to to be buried with me when they died. I had once told him that should I die when my two cats died I wanted them to be buried with me, to guard over me forever. I'm glad he remembered. It made it easier for me to have them by my side.

I felt one of them squirm and realized that they must want out of my shirt. I sat each one on the ground then watched as they turned back into the two teenaged girls, the only difference was that now they had normal green eyes and human ears. "Do you know what our mission is Star? I'd like to get it done as soon as possible. That way we can be alive again and be happy." Star looked at me and smiled. It wasn't a happy smile. "We have to find the man who killed us and kill him. It's the only way to be given our lives back." Okay I wish I didn't ask but I will do it. I would do anything for my children and they are my children.

We had to have taken more time then I thought because the sun was starting to rise up. I didn't know what to do though. Where should I go. Obviously I need to get clothes on and my girls do too. As I am trying to think of where to go I notice that the girls are putting dirt on their faces. Star had tears drawn on her face, North had a lightening pattern on hers and they were walking over to me. They told me to sit for a minute then drew something on my face. As Star was finishing with my eyes North took some red clay and rubbed it on my bottom lip then put dirt on my top.

"What did you do that for? Are we suppossed to wear this stuff?" I was confussed I mean come on I just woke up from being dead painting my face was the last thing on my list. "I put a tear and some lightening around your eyes mum. They said we had to hide our faces with a symbol of love. So since North had a bolt on her neck as a birthmark and I had a tear we thought that would work. They said that love will keep us strong and help us to complete our mission." I understand now they were putting on war paint. Because they were told to do so.

As soon as the sun started to show more I realized that we needed to leave the cemetary. So I grabbed them by their hands and we walked out. We had to have walked for several miles before we found the road to our house. Yet not once did we see a car or even a single person outside. By the time we reached the house the sun was fully out. It had to be at least ten o'clock. I walked up to the door and tried the handle, locked. Then I decided to check for a key, I felt my pockets first out of habit I guess, and was amazed to find a key and a note that said 'To find your way home. I love you Tommy.' why did you do that?

I shrugged it off and put the key into the lock. It fit thankfully and I walked in with my girls holding my hands. I had just shut the door when I heard the sound of glass breaking. I panicked and turned towards the noise. There in the doorway was a little girl who had to be at least four years old. She had strawberry blonde hair and hazel eyes. Her dad's eyes, she looked like my Tommy. I couldn't help myself, I knelt down and held my arms open. "Nymmy. Don't be scared of me Nym, it's mummy." She looked scared for a minute then ran back into the kitchen yelling for her dad.

I wanted to cry my baby didn't know who I was, she ran from me. I felt my girls wrap me into a hug as someone walked into the room. I saw their feet first then a gun pointed at my face. I jumped up and shoved my girls behind me, mostly out of reflex but also out of protectiveness. But as I looked up the gun lowered. There in the doorway was my husband. "Tommy. Is it really you?" I wanted to laugh at the irony. The last thing I saw in this house was his gun as that man killed me, and now I'm looking at another gun pointed at my face but by my husband.

"It can't be. You, you are dead. She's dead! My wife is dead! Who are you?" That hurt but seeing as how my daughter wasn't a baby that meant I had been dead for a while. "Tommy I am your wife. Don't you remember me? IF not me then do you at least remember North and Star? Or how about how you teased me and said that with those names one would think that they would lead me home should I ever get lost. Well they led me home and it was you who let me in. You put a key and a note in my pocket. Remember your note said to find your way home. I found my way home. Please believe me."

"Nymphadora. It is you. But you died. It's been four and a half years. How is this possible?" He looked like he had seen a ghost and in a way I guess he did, three to be exact. But he finally lowered his gun and wrapped his arms around me. Then he notice my girls and pulled them into the hug as well. "You found your way home. I can't believe it. Your home. You followed the North Star didn't you?" He laughed as he said it and I had to as well. He always picked on my names for the girls. "Nym, come in here baby it's ok." I looked at the doorway and saw my daughter peeking around the corner.

She slowly walked into the hallways and grabbed onto his leg. "Nym, honey, I want you to meet someone. This is your mommy. You were named after her remember. The girls behind her are North and Star, they are your sisters in a way." I smiled at that because they really were her sisters. At least they will be. My daughter had finally calmed down enough to walk up to me then she did something that had me shocked. She jumped into my arms and held onto me as tight as her little arms could squeeze.

"Mummy you are home for good? I can have you home now? You and my sisters?" I couldn't lie to her she's my baby how could I. "Soon baby, for now mummy just needs to get some things and do a quick job then I can come home and you can be a big sister to North and Star. But for now I need to talk to daddy and find clothes for your sisters to wear. I'm sure they are cold like that." She let go of me and grabbed the girls by the hands. "Come on I'll find you clothes, daddy kept mummys stuff so you can wear some of it maybe." As soon as they went upstairs I led Tommy to the couch and told him everything from thenight I died up to when I walked into the house and saw Nym.

He was in tears by the time I was done. "Oh Nymph, I promise we will name them after their cat names, I know you loved them as cats, and I just know that as humans you will love them ten times as much. But that man, the private that killed you he, the reason he was discharged was because he had attacked a shipmate remember. Well that shipmate was a young woman she was only 18 and had joined right after her birthday. He raped her and had done so much damage that she will never have children. That is why I wouldn't tell you before. Now I wish I would have. Because I was the one who caught him, I turned him in. Maybe if I hadn't then you wouldn't have been killed by him."

"Don't blame yourself. You don't know for sure that it was your fault he attacked me. I mean think about it, he could have targeted another person. He could have killed that girl if you hadn't caught him. He wasn't right in the head Thomas killing the girls proved that. But now I have to find him, and the officer who had retired after I died. The cop has something I need." He knew who the cop was and offered to take me there but first I wanted a hot bath and clean clothes. We went upstairs and saw the girls wearing some of my old clothes. North had on a dark green dress that was short with combat boots, and Star had put on a blue velvet dress with a pair of knee high boots. They were beautiful and looked like two normal teenagers getting ready for a party, not someone who was about to hunt down and kill a killer.

"You girls look beautiful. Would you mind watching your sister while I go get a shower and clean clothes?" They were all to happy to play with her so I went to my old room. After looking for my clothes I sighed and asked Tommy where they were. He told me to go in to the other bedroom. He had turned to old room into a monument in a way but had moved my clothes into the new bedroom. It didn't take me long to find my favorite outfit. It was green and black. With a pair of matching knee high boots. I took my clothes into the bathroom to shower and Tommy joined me. I felt complete once again as we showered. It felt like I was alive again. Then I noticed that I didn't feel the water anymore. I opened my eyes to see a blinding light and heard a soft melodic voice say that now the girls will be born. It warned me I had just one night to find and kill the one who killed me or they will be gone forever.

As soon as the voice said that I felt the water again and time seemed to pick up. As soon as the shower was over I told Tommy that in nine months North and Star would be born. But only if I left now. I told what had happened and what the voice had said. He smiled then seemed to be in high speed because he was dressed and had our daughters ready and in the car before I had finished dressing. "Let's go baby girl it's time to make our lives be whole again." I had to smile he was willing to help us.

We had only driven five minutes when we pulled up to where the cop lived. We all got out and went to the door. Tom knocked and barely missed the man's head. It seems we caught him just in time. Tom introduced himself and asked if we could talk to him. He allowed us in after seeing my three girls with us shivering. I'm glad that he was a younger man he had to be at least fourty five. Because if he was older I'm afraid that the story I had to tell him would have given the poor man a heart attack.

"Let me get this straight. You are Nymphadora. The same Nymphadora who was murdered four years ago. If that's the case then how in the he..umm heck are you alive now? Nevermind that I think I know. My grand dad used to tell me stories of people coming back from the dead for revenge. I used to think the old crow was just telling me stories. I guess he wasn't kidding." I felt bad for the man he was taken it well but when you are an indian many people can be so cruel. "Officer Black I promise that what I have told you is true. Now please I need to know where the man that killed me lives. I only have this one night to avenge myself and my girls. If I don't then they are lost to me forever."

After another hour of him telling us exactly where the guy lived and how to get there we left. It would take us two hours to get there so I begged him to keep my Nym and protect her. I didn't want her in the cold or in danger. If she was with me I'd be too busy worrying about her to finish my job. Thankfully he agreed to keep her there for us and promised to protect her. After two hours of driving we found the home of Jacob Johnson. It was finally showtime. Tom pulled up to the house and we all got out. I was bold and I was ready to end this. We all were.

I walked up to the door and knocked I'd rather not give him a chance to get a weapon before I get to him. He opened the door and I could smeel the booze and smoke coming off of him. "Wha' th' fuck d'you wan' lady? Go 'way I don' wan' any." Oh yea he's drunk. I slammed into him so fast he didn't get to let go of the door. I heard the sound of a bone breaking and grinned. I planned to make his death be as slow and painful as mine was. My husband and daughters entered the door and shut it. "Go see if anyone else is here, I don't want anyone to come and help him." They each walked off in different directions.

I had just tied Jacob to a chair when North came flying down the stairs and pounced on him. She was screaming like a banshee and crying. By the time I pulled her off of him and could get her to talk to me he had lost his other eye. "Baby what is wrong? Please tell me." The look she gave me had me wondering if I really wanted to know. I tried to get her to tell me but she just pointed up the stairs and cried. So I went to see what had upset her. In the first room I didn't see anything but the next room made me cry. There were two girls clutching onto each other with a kitten in their lap. They were naked brusied, and looked to be bleeding from their genitals. That sick fuck had them chained to the wall with gags in their mouths.

I crept over and slowly wrapped them in a blanket that wasn't too dirty then removed the gags and chains. "It's ok babies, I won't hurt you, I promise. I'm here to free you. Is you're kitten ok?" The nodded and one of the girls said her name was Milk because she was milk white. I told them to follow me and asked if anyone else was here. The older girl nodded her head yes. "Our mum is here somewhere and our brother. But we haven't seen them in two weeks. Daddy wouldn't let us."

I felt fire flash in my eyes. They are his children. What kind of sick fuck would do that to his own children and where were his wife and son? I got my answer and regretted it. As soon as I got the children down the stairs Star ran to me crying and holding a small boy of about twelve. He was as badly beaten as the girls, and barely breathing. Then I saw Tommy he had a woman who was dangerously thin, and had at least one bone sticking out of her leg, in his arms. I took the children to the living room and sat them down. then told Tommy to get all of them wrapped in blankets and into the car.

As soon as the children were out of the house I walked back into the kitchen to see North holding two more kittens and a puppy. "Mummy they are alive can we please save them. I told her yes. Then told her put them in the car and come back in to see if any other living being was in here and alive still. As she went in search of others I went to work.

I grabbed a large butcher knife and stood in front of Johnson. "So you sick piece of work. You enjoy molesting children and beating them half to death do you. YOu are a piece of work you know that? They are your children, and you wife. I feel bad for them but right now I don't feel a bit of pity for you. You will be found in pieces by morning starting with your tool."

Just because he could no longer see doesn't mean he couldn't hear me. I took the knife and drove into his crotch, the sound of his howling in pain was music to my ears. I wanted him to suffer for what he did to me, and to his family. Once he stopped screaming I grabbed his hnads and pinned them to the table. Then I chopped at them until they were gone. He will never again hit a nother human being. He'll never be able to molest or rape again. Then I grabbed my husbands gun and put it to his forehead. "I hope you remember how this feels I do. After all you killed me four years ago." Then I pulled the trigger. Once I was done I asked North if she found anything else alive. She found another child who had been in the basement with a kitten and a stuffed bear. the child was just barely alive but was able to speak. I had her take them out to the car and checked the house myself. I started in the basement and worked up to the attic and garage. I found things that will haunt me forever but no more humans or animals.

For that I was thankful seeing the evidence of what he had done to so many people was bad enough. But I gathered up the videos and walked into the kitchen. I turned on the gas and then once I was in the doorway to the hall I fired a shot at the stove. As the bullet flew I ran out the door. I had just jumped the porch when the house went up in flames.

We drove for miles until we found a hospital and the four of us carried in the four children and mother. Then I asked a security guard to call the cops and handed him the videos of what had happened to so many people. I told him to tell the family that their pets were safe and would be at the vet so that they could get better as well. We then left and took the animals to the vet that was a block away. I explained that they were recused with their owners from a man who had held them prisoners. Then told them that the family would come and get the animals when they get released from the hospital. My husband offered to pay for the bill to treat and house the animals until the owers arrived and left his number for the vet to call him.

Once we were done there we drove back to officer Black's house. I picked Nym up and sat her in the car then we went home. Once Nym was in bed we all got a shower and sat down to drink a cup of tea. As we sat there I noticed that the girls were starting to fade. "Tommy do you have a camera handy? I want a picture of our girls before they are gone." He found one and took a picture of the three of us together. Then an hour later the girls had faded away completely and I felt warmth again.

Three months later the doctor told us that we were having twins. At five months he told us that the twins were both girls. At six months the woman we recused called us and asked to meet us. We agredd to meet and found out she was a girl he had kidnapped thirteen years ago. She then thanked us for rescuing her and her family. When she found out her animals were also alive and were at the vet's waiting for her she was hugging us and talking about how to pay us back. "Don't worry about it dear just go get your pets and find your parents. I'm sure they would love to see their daughter again after so long."

After that she'd call weekly to update us on her life. It seems we made a life long friend in the girl who turned out to only be twenty five. When my due date came she called to tell us she found her parents. Turns out we knew them, it was officer Black, as soon as she told me that my water broke. She offered to watch Nym while Tommy rushed me to the hospital. After only four minutes of labor my first daughter was born. I was worried about being able to tell who was who but she had a tear drop shaped birthmark on her neck. Then North was born. When the nurse asked me what their names were I told her the one with the teardrop on her neck was Star and the one with the lightening bolt was to be named North. She thought I was crazy and asked Tommy what to name them. I had to laugh when he replied because of her face. "You heard my wife Their names are North and Star, so that they may always find their way home if they get lost."

It's been ten years since then. Nym is now fourteen and looks just like her daddy. The twins they look just like they did when I first saw them in human form ears and all. But you know what I don't care I love them all the same, and everyone who meets them just seem to adore my strangely beautiful daughters, nobody seems to notice or care that they have cat ears. 


End file.
